Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, by Eamon Duffy, is a wonder of comprehensive compression--a sumptuously illustrated, one-volume history of one of the most influential human institutions in world history. Duffy's lively portraits of the 261 scholars, scoundrels, and spiritual guides who have led the Roman Catholic Church are embedded in six historical essays that proceed chronologically from St. Peter to John Paul II. Duffy, a reader in church history and fellow at Cambridge, writes in the mannered yet affable tone of an avuncular English don. His narrative and arguments convey his own Catholic conviction that "the story of the popes is a crucial dimension of the providential care of God for humankind throughout history." Yet he also offers candid assessments of papal moral failings, including spectacular failures such as the orchestration of the Spanish Inquisition and the willed ignorance of Germany's Third Reich. Duffy's glossary of theological terms ensures that no secular reader will be lost in Christian arcana, and his excellent bibliographical essay will help motivated students zero in on the best resources for learning more about any period of Catholic history. For readers primarily concerned with current events, his analysis of John Paul II's papacy is extraordinarily useful and refreshingly free of cant. "To many people Pope John Paul seems a backward-looking figure, a man attempting to force a champagne cork back into the bottle," Duffy writes. "To others, he points the way towards a recovery of balance, a restoration of order and true faith in the flux of time. Only time, and the next conclave, will reveal which of these directions in their long walk through history the heirs of St. Peter will take." --Michael Joseph Gross


From Library Journal
With characteristic flair, the sour Latinist Tertullian called Rome "the happy church on which the Apostles poured forth all their teaching together with their blood." Such emotional extremes, axiomatic of Tertullian, apply equally to papal histories, often given to the heights and depths of spiritual excitement. Duffy (Magdalene Coll., Cambridge) offers this abundantly illustrated, amiably presented history to accompany a multinational television series for Britain, France, and Ireland. Such a pedigree often provokes disdain among bookish sorts, but Duffy's scholarship and enthusiasm overcome the book's populist roots. While not necessarily uncovering anything strikingly new and more akin to a handbook than a treatise, this work merits applause for providing a people's papal retrospective. Those wishing for heavier intellectual discourse should seek out Owen Chadwick's The Popes and European Revolution (1981) or practically anything by Peter Hebblethwaite.?Sandra Collins, Northern Tier Lib., PittsburghCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Henry Chadwick
In Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes, Eamon Duffy, a medieval historian at Cambridge University, includes both good illustrations and a distinguished text; his book, designed as the basis for a television series in 1998, appears to be particularly good value.


From Kirkus Reviews
A sumptuous feast of popes and kings, nimbly prepared by historian Duffy, a fellow at Magdelen College, Cambridge. This book is intended as a tie-in to a six-part British television series on the history of the papacy, scheduled to appear on the History Channel in the spring of 1998. For a companion volume, this history is surprisingly dense and sophisticated. More important, although Duffy certainly remarks on the papacy's more salacious past (like Boniface's comment that sex with boys or women was no more sinful than ``rubbing one hand against another''), he never stoops to a tabloidesque fascination with the all-too-human foibles of the pontiffs. Rather, Duffy uses the evolving institution of the papacy from Peter to John Paul II as a lens through which to view two millennia of Western civilization. He profiles the missionary activity of the early Church, the consolidation of power with the bishop of Rome (who became the acknowledged pope), the emergence of monastic reform, the schism with Constantinople, the ``Babylonian Captivity'' of the papacy in 14th-century Avignon, Luther's protest, and the Catholic Reformation that met his challenge. If the last third of the book seems to lose some of its energy, it might be because, as Duffy subtly observes, the modern papacy is a quite different institution than its predecessor. Shorn of political power and the most obvious signs of avarice, it now commands a holy respect. Duffy claims that the current pope asserts ``a spiritual status . . . greater than at any time since the high Middle Ages.'' With its 150 well-chosen illustrations, 100 of them in color, this is a coffee-table book that transcends its genre. (History Book Club selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Washington Post Book World
[T]races the history of the papacy from its humble beginnings…with St. Peter, to the distinctly different institution…[of] today.


Book Description
This engrossing book encompasses the extraordinary history of the papacy, from its beginnings nearly two thousand years ago to the reign of Pope John Paul II. In this edition, Duffy has revised and updated the final chapter on twentieth-century Popes and added a supplement on the method by which the next Pope will be elected.


From the Back Cover
Praise for the earlier edition: "[A] minor masterpiece which is everything good, popular history ought to be. . . . The most comprehensive single-volume history of the popes in print."—John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph "The best one-volume history of the papacy ever written."—T. F. X. Noble "Duffy enlivens the long march through church history with anecdotes that bring the different pontiffs to life. . . . Saints and Sinners is a remarkable achievement."—Piers Paul Read, The Times (London) "A distinguished text . . . offering plenty of historical facts and sobering, valuable judgments."—Henry Chadwick, New York Times Book Review "Will intrigue the faithful as well as the skeptical."—Economist "A wonderful history of the popes . . . a book that will fascinate anyone wishing to better understand the history of the Catholic Church and the forces that have shaped the role of the papacy."—Gloria J. Tysl, Christian Century Inside pages "Duffy's sprightly and sometimes anecdotal style moves the reader effortlessly through the centuries, highlighting popes whose tenure changed the shape of the papacy."—Donald L. Gelpi, America "[A] fine survey of the papacy."—Gary Wills, New York Review of Books "A grand and critical overview of an institution which Duffy believes has been 'on balance a force for human freedom and largeness of spirit'."—Patrick Collins, Times Literary Supplement "This new book offers the most comprehensive one-volume history in English of the popes from ancient times to the pontificate of John Paul II. . . [Duffy's] account is judicious and fair throughout."—Robert Louis Wilken, Commonweal "A compelling introduction to one of the most durable and significant institutions to influence the course of Western civilizations."—Booklist "An outstanding work."—Peter Stanford, The Daily Telegraph "This is as fair-minded, as full and as interesting a survey as a one-volume history of the papacy can be expected to be. Clear, elegant and lively, the book is very readable. It is a stunning achievement, to be grateful for."—R.A. Markus, The Tablet "An excellent college-level reference."—The Bookwatch "Lively and informative read. . . Duffy peoples his story with real men, and casts interesting, sometimes poignant light on their lives."—Jerry Bartram, Globe and Mail "The history of the papacy is a fascinating study whether you consider it theologically, politically, or economically. Duffy offers a masterful blending of all three in this beautiful book."—Catholic News Service "The story has all the ingredients of a best-seller. Love, lust, nail-biting struggles for power, a passion for goodness, sometimes an almost equal appetite for evil."—Mario Basini, The Western Mail "A wonderful study of heroism and flawed humanity."—John Morrill, Catholic Herald "The narrative is full of charming vignettes. . . deserves to be sipped like good wine."—Thomas Shelley, Church


About the Author
Eamon Duffy, President of Magdalene College, Cambridge, is also the author of The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580 and The Voices of Morebath, both published by Yale University Press.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book encompasses the extraordinary history of the papacy, from its beginnings nearly two thousand years ago to the reign of Pope John Paul II. In this edition, Duffy has revised and updated the final chapter on twentieth-century Popes and added a supplement on the method by which the next Pope will be elected.

FROM THE CRITICS

Economist

Will intrigue the faithful as well as the skeptical.

Patrick Collins - Times Literary Supplement

A grand and critical overview of an institution which Duffy believes has been ￯﾿ﾽon balance a force for human freedom and largeness of spirit'.

John Morrill - Catholic Herald

A wonderful study of heroism and flawed humanity.

Henry Chadwick - New York Times Book Review

A distinguished text ... offering plenty of historical facts and sobering, valuable judgments.

Gary Wills - New York Review of Books

[A] fine survey of the papacy. Read all 20 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING